"Google has released a research paper that suggests C++ is the best-performing programming language in the market. The internet giant implemented a compact algorithm in four languages - C++, Java, Scala and its own programming language Go - and then benchmarked results to find 'factors of difference'."

I actually don't encourage people to optimize things at such small levels or in assembly. I'm just disturbed that so many people are under the false impression that their compilers are so difficult to beat.

I understand that what you gave was just a very simple example about code optimization and the common sense idea people have about compilers outsmart our flesh brains, what we both see as unconnected to reality. But we should not forget that they are coded by biological primates, though possibly very smart ones and build through on hours orders of magnitude greater than the time we have available to complete our work, they are still creations of human brains and, as such, will always have space to a little helping hand.

Anyway, I was just trying to emphasize a very common fault on our education on CS. People feel a push toward optimizing but, at same time lacks a proper knowledge about algorithms, computer architecture and code generation and how they are linked. Because of that, they frequently write subpar code that they should not. That is why I vehemently push them towards libraries.